WORDS: Mike Ramsey/Andrew Singer
PHOTOS: Andy McGechan
THE BEL-RAY CROSS COUNTRY
Celebrating the 25th
anniversary of the Bel-Ray,
originator Mike Ramsey recalls
the history of the event.
K
ay and I started our motorcycle business
in late 1989/early 1990 in Pukekohe, and
with that threw ourselves into creating
a trail ride series for our customers to
have several venues and opportunities to
experience off-road riding within the Franklin
and surrounding districts.
I had previously been involved with the
Pukekohe Motor Cycle Club (PMCC) since
its early days when everything was based
around natural terrain riding and the club
relied heavily on local farmers for properties.
The club had a very strong base and group
of workers, and catered for a wide range of
riding preferences.
The Dickey Family of Kohekohe was one such
family and with the other strong family being
the Riddles, there was a true passion for Hare
Scrambles with many club members having
the desire to travel in groups to those types of
events, which started in earnest around 1977-
78 with the NZ Hare Scramble Champs.
Pukekohe had some very talented riders in
these early days for this type of event and, as
an apprentice motorcycle mechanic, I became
hooked along with guys like Tony Cooksley,
KIWI RIDER 31